National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Volume 34, Number 2 Second Quarter 2017

FROM HOW 11 DEAF MEN HELPED SHAPE NASA’S THE CHIEF HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT PROGRAM HISTORIAN By Hannah Hotovy, NASA History Division Intern t the risk of delay­ Aing the produc­ efore NASA could send humans to IN THIS ISSUE: tion of this edition B space, the Agency needed to bet­ of News and Notes, ter understand the effects of prolonged I’m going to make weightlessness on the human body. So, in 1 From the Chief Historian some comments here on our annual History the late 1950s, NASA and the U.S. Naval 1 How 11 Deaf Men Helped Shape Program Review, which we just completed School of Aviation Medicine established NASA’s Human Spaceflight on 11 May at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory a joint research program to study these Program (JPL) in Pasadena, California. First, let me effects and recruited 11 deaf men aged 4 News from Headquarters and start with a huge thank-you to Erik Conway, 25–48 from Gallaudet College (now the Centers JPL historian, and Julie Cooper, JPL archi­ Gallaudet University). Today, these men vist, for their outstanding work organizing the are known to history as the “Gallaudet 15 Other Aerospace History News 2017 Program Review. Erik and Julie, working Eleven,” and their names are listed below: 18 Recent Publications closely with our own Nadine Andreassen here Upcoming Meetings at Headquarters, really took the ball and ran Harold Domich David Myers 21 with it. The facilities, the schedule, the “extra­ Robert Greenmun Donald Peterson 22 The 1970 Total Solar Eclipse curricular” activities, and all other aspects of Barron Gulak Raymond Piper NASA and Art: A Collaboration the meeting were handled smoothly and per­ Raymond Harper Alvin Steele 24 Colored with History fectly. They even ordered cool, overcast weather Jerald Jordan John Zakutney for the days we spent in meetings indoors and Harry Larson 27 Image in NASA History perfect weather for the day when we spent some time outside looking at the historical All but one had become deaf early in their treasures of JPL and exploring the California lives due to spinal meningitis, which damaged the vestibular systems of their Institute of Technology (Caltech). We owe a inner ear in a way that made them “immune” to motion sickness. Throughout a really big thank-you to Erik, Julie, and Nadine decade of various experiments, researchers measured the volunteers’ nonreaction for making this a smooth-running and enjoy­ to motion sickness on both a physiological and psychological level, relying on able event that allowed us to focus on the key the 11 men to report in detail their sensations and changes in perception. These issues before NASA’s history program. experiments helped to improve humanity’s understanding of how the body’s

There were a lot of issues for us to discuss. Like continued on page 3 every government organization, we all face challenges in trying to be more efficient and effective on an ever-tighter budget. For those

continued on next page NASA HISTORY DIVISION OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

From the Chief Historian (continued)

doctoral dissertation. Even if I could find a floppy-disk reader, I wouldn’t be able to open the Microsoft Word files because Word 1.0 has security vulnerabilities and current versions of the program won’t open the old version. (Good thing I made a PDF copy and have re-saved it in the newer versions of the program every few years.) The second issue with digitization is whether it is prudent to throw away the originals. This is a subject of debate in the archival community and outside my area of expertise. But I am mindful that there are some paper records in our collections that have an intrinsic value beyond the information on the page. It is one thing to view an image of meeting notes jotted down by legendary leaders of our organization; Attendees pose in front of a model of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover during the annual History Program Review at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Photo credit: NASA it is another to hold their notebooks in your hands. JPL–Caltech) My point here is that implementing the smart strategy for NASA facilities involves costs not normally con­ of us in the history and archival business, those pres­ sidered inside the bureaucratic stovepipes where those sures play out in some interesting ways. For example, decisions are made. One of the many tasks we faced in nearly everyone at the meeting was facing the efforts our Program Review was how to break through those of NASA’s facility managers to demolish outdated stovepipes to make sure that solving one Agency prob­ buildings that are expensive to maintain. While this lem doesn’t cause another. This is a challenge all of us is a smart strategic move for the Agency in terms of in government face as we try to be the best possible reducing spending on buildings, most of the archival stewards of our tax dollars. programs across NASA rely on old, underused build­ ings to store our archival collections and other items. Throughout the summer, we will be working on this Moving out of those facilities involves a cost, as well issue (and many others that came up in the Program as the inevitable demand for a dramatic reduction in Review) as we also prepare to mark some major the size of the archival collection when it moves into upcoming anniversaries. Upon us as the summer ends another facility. The expectation is that archivists will will be the 40th anniversary of the launch of the two simply digitize all of that paper and then throw it Voyager probes, followed quickly by the 60th anniver­ away. However, that expectation ignores a couple of sary of the start of the Space Age in 1957 and early important realities. First, digitization is neither quick 1958. The 60th anniversary of the creation of NASA nor cheap. Doing it right is hugely expensive (espe­ follows next fall and nearly overlaps the 50th anni­ cially when dealing with the types of old paper docu­ versaries of the crewed flights in the Apollo program. ments found in archival collections across the Agency). These are exciting times for NASA history. Digitization also comes with an eternal maintenance cost. Digital records can degrade over time and need Enjoy the ride and Godspeed, long-term care. More importantly, as digital formats, software, and security rules change over time, the digital collection needs continuing updates to make sure it remains accessible. A perfect example of this William P. Barry problem is the pile of floppy disks that hold my 1996 Chief Historian

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How 11 Deaf Men Helped Shape NASA’s Human Spaceflight Program (continued)

Left: Study participants chat in the zero-g aircraft that flew out of Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. (Photo credit: U.S. Navy/Gallaudet University collection) Right: Study participant Harry Larson stands in a 20-foot slow-rotation room. Experiments like these helped NASA understand the effects of gravitational changes on the human body. (Photo credit: Gallaudet University Archives/Harry Larson collection) sensory systems work when the usual gravitational Gulak later remarked about such experiments: “In cues from the inner ear are not available (as is the case retrospect, yes, it was scary…but at the same time we of these young men and in spaceflight). “We were were young and adventurous.” different in a way they needed,” said Harry Larson, one of the volunteer test subjects. Based on their findings from a decade’s worth of experimentation, researchers gained insight into the The experiments tested the subjects’ balance and phys­ body’s sensory systems and their responses to foreign iological adaptations in a diverse range of environ­ gravitational environments. Through their endurance ments. One test saw four subjects spend 12 straight and dedication, the Gallaudet Eleven made substan­ days inside a 20-foot slow-rotation room, which tial contributions to the understanding of motion remained in a constant motion of 10 revolutions per sickness and adaptation to spaceflight. minute. In another scenario, subjects participated in a series of zero-g flights in the notorious “Vomit On 11 April 2017, our Chief Historian, Bill Barry, Comet” aircraft to help researchers understand con­ had the honor of representing NASA at the open­ nections between body orientation and gravitational ing of Gallaudet University’s museum exhibit “Deaf cues. Another experiment, conducted in a ferry off the Difference + Space Survival.” Curated by Gallaudet coast of Nova Scotia, tested the subjects’ reactions to student Maggie Kopp, the exhibit highlights the rela­ the choppy seas. While the test subjects played cards tively unknown contributions to the study of motion and enjoyed one another’s company, the researchers sickness made by these 11 university alums for a themselves were so overcome with sea sickness that decade, from 1958 to 1968. Present were 3 of the 11 the experiment had to be canceled. The Gallaudet test former study participants: Harry O. Larson, class of subjects reported no adverse physical effects and, in 1961; Barron Gulak, class of ’62; and David O. Myers, fact, enjoyed the experience. Test participant Barron class of ’61.

3 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

“Deaf Difference + Space Survival” is currently on display at Gallaudet University’s Jordan Student Academic Center, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.–10 p.m. For more information, visit https://www. gallaudet.edu/museum/exhibits/ deaf-difference--space-survival-exhibit.

Pictured is the exhibit’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at Gallaudet University Museum. From left to right: Gallaudet exhibit curator Margaret Kopp, NASA Chief Historian Bill Barry, Dr. Paul DiZio of the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory at Brandeis University, Harry O. Larson (Gallaudet class of 1961), Barron Gulak (’62), David O. Myers (’61), Gallaudet University President Roberta J. Cordano, and Gallaudet Provost Carol J. Erting. (Courtesy of Jean Bergey, Gallaudet University)

NEWS FROM HEADQUARTERS AND THE CENTERS

NASA HEADQUARTERS Unfortunately, we may need that help sooner than I’d Washington, DC hoped. Our effort to hire a Chief Archivist got caught in the changing personnel policy of the new adminis­ History Division and Historical tration. The presidential hiring freeze was lifted, but Reference Collection (HRC) NASA is still grappling with personnel planning under By Bill Barry some new rules. So our previous hiring effort had to be canceled. Although this is a huge disappointment, hile everyone at NASA is curious about who our we are working to get approval so that we can reinitiate Wnext Administrator will be, life at Headquarters the hiring process. The good news is that I know there continues. One item that has been settled is the are great people out there interested in the work. I, for identity of our new Associate Administrator for one, will be thrilled to help one of them fulfill that Communications—the person who oversees the ambition. Despite the absence of a Chief Archivist, History Division. Jen Rae Wang has more than a Colin Fries and Liz Suckow continue to keep our decade of experience at the highest levels of state and archival program on track under the able leadership federal government in media, strategic communi­ of Steve Garber. They have had a particularly produc­ cations, and organizational leadership. She is a real tive spring, dealing with new acquisitions, scanning enthusiast for NASA’s mission and brings a refreshing thousands of pages of historical budget documents sense of practicality and people skills to a demanding (over 17,000 pages in March alone), and answering an job. In my first meeting with her, she asked a lot of incredible array of questions from within NASA and really good (and sometimes tough) questions about from outside. Their incredible skill in tracking down the NASA history program. I am sure that we’ll be information about even the most obscure questions able to count on her for strong support for our history has earned the History Division quite a reputation as and archival efforts. the “go to” place for answers.

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One of the strategic invest­ be hearing a lot more about ments we’ve been working what NASA plans to do and toward over the last cou­ DESPITE THE ABSENCE OF A how we’ll work with others ple of years is an effort to to plan related anniversary refresh and reorganize the CHIEF ARCHIVIST, COLIN FRIES commemorations. history Web site, https:// AND LIZ SUCKOW CONTINUE history.nasa.gov. The site TO KEEP OUR ARCHIVAL Helping us this summer is an amazing resource that (thank goodness) will be has grown since the earliest PROGRAM ON TRACK UNDER three interns. In addition days of the Internet into THE ABLE LEADERSHIP OF to the usual pair of history over 12,000 pages hosting STEVE GARBER. interns, the NASA Office over 61 gigabytes of data. of Education is sponsor­ The continuing value of ing an intern whom they being an early adopter of want to be part of our the Web is evident in our usage statistics. In 2016, the team. Jordan Carter, a sophomore at the University of site had over 60 million hits. That’s over 160,000 each Virginia, joined us late in May and will stay through day! When it was last redesigned over a decade ago, the end of July. Victoria Wegman, a junior at the the look, feel, and utility of the site was cutting-edge. Ohio State University, arrived shortly after Jordan and But nothing stays still on the Web. The current site has will stay with us until the start of August. Rounding features that are no longer usable, and it is not easy to out our super-sized intern team this summer will be navigate. More importantly, most people access NASA Julian Haddad, a graduate student at the University of content from their mobile devices (phones and tab­ California, San Diego. He’ll be with us into September. lets) these days, and our site is not mobile-friendly. As We are looking forward to a very productive summer. a result, while 60 million hits is an impressive number, Of course, the summer interns have a tough act to that figure has actually been declining for the last cou­ follow. By the time you read this, our spring intern, ple of years. Unfortunately, during that same period, Hannah Hotovy, will have graduated from Nebraska the cost of Web design work has gone up dramatically Wesleyan University. Hannah was our sole intern this and our budget has been declining. We did get some spring and did a marvelous job of juggling all of the great initial design work done for an improved version intern work herself. She not only kept things on an of the site, but lack of funding has put the completion even keel but produced some really interesting arti­ of that work on hold. We hope to restart that work cles on things like the NASA art program and the next fiscal year. But, in the meantime, https://history. Gallaudet Eleven (see the articles in this newsletter), nasa.gov will be stuck in the Internet Bronze Age. among others. We’re going to miss her.

As mentioned last quarter, planning for NASA’s 60th anniversary (1 October 2018) and the 50th anni­ AMES RESEARCH CENTER (ARC) versaries of the crewed Apollo missions (Apollo 7’s Moffett Field, California that same month) will be a major challenge for this By Glenn Bugos and Jack Boyd year. The NASA Communications Coordinating Council (CCC) agreed to set up a committee to plan The NASA Ames Women’s Influence Network (WIN) the anniversary events and try to synchronize efforts. and the African American Advisory Group (AAAG) The History Division is leading that committee—and were inspired by Hidden Figures, the book that shed getting our arms around the rapidly expanding list of light on the African American women employed activities already in progress for the various anniver­ as “computers” at NASA Langley Research Center saries is a big task. As this summer progresses, you’ll (LaRC). At a Center-wide event on 1 February 2017,

5 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

Walter Vincenti was awarded the Guggenheim Medal of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), perhaps the premier recognition for a lifetime of achievement in the advancement of aeronautics. The award honors Vincenti’s “seminal pioneering supersonic wind tunnel research, educa­ tion in high temperature gas dynamics, and excep­ tional contributions to the history of engineering technology.” Vincenti spent the first 17 years of his remarkable career as an aerodynamicist in high-speed aeronautics at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ (NACA) Ames Aeronautical Laboratory. In 1957, he moved to Stanford University, where he reinvigorated their Aeronautics and Astronautics Shown here with WIN and AAAG are Carol Mead (right) and Carolyn Department and taught many of the engineers who Hofstetter (left), two human computers who worked at Ames in the took Ames into the Space Age. In 1971, he began early 1950s. the third leg of his career by starting the Program in Science, Technology and Society, now one of the most Carol Mead and Carolyn Hofstetter answered ques­ popular majors at Stanford. His book of case studies tions from a standing-room-only crowd on what it on early aeronautical engineering, What Engineers was like for women to work in science, technology, Know and How They Know It (1990), is one of the key engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at the texts in the history of engineering, and he won the Da start of the Space Age. A month later, the former Vinci Medal for lifetime achievement from the Society computers returned for another WIN event featuring for the History of Technology. On 20 April 2017, he Karan Kendrick, an actor from the film. celebrated his 100th birthday.

Reference Collection By April Gage and Keith Venter

Individual Properties and New Wind Tunnel District Listed in National Register of Historic Places: On 11 January 2017, three individual prop­ erties and a Wind Tunnel Historic District at Ames Research Center were entered into the National Register of Historic Places. Below are details from reg­ istration materials that were researched and prepared by a team of architectural historians (Trina Meiser, Patricia Ambacher, Madeline Bowen, and Mark Bowen) under the direction of the Ames Historic Preservation Officer, Keith Venter.

NASA Ames Wind Tunnel Historic District: Deemed significant for its associations with aeronautical and Vincenti is in the back row, second from the left, June 1940, in one of the staff photographs of aerospace research, the development of aircraft and the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory spacecraft, and the evolution of wind tunnel technology

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in the United States, this district contains the world’s greatest collection of wind tunnels and remains a leading research facility for the aerospace industry. Contributing properties include

• the 7- by 10-Foot Wind Tunnel Number 1 and Army Aeromechanics Lab Technical Services Building; • the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex, 40- by 80-Foot and 80- by 120-Foot Wind Tunnels; • the 6- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel; and • the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Complex.1

Ames Administration Building (N-200): Machinists work in the Technical Services Building during World War II. Though not a wind Completed in 1943, this building has tunnel, this property was included in the Wind Tunnel Historic District for its function as a historical significance due to its role production facility for equipment used to support testing and research, notably for aircraft and as administrative headquarters for the spacecraft models used in tunnel testing. (Photo credit: NASA/NACA) intensive research and development efforts undertaken at the NACA Ames Aeronautical of the 60-megawatt Interaction Heating Facility Laboratory facility and later NASA Ames Research (IHF) arc jet in developing and refining TPS for the Center—key research facilities that made nationally Space Shuttle Program (SSP). The Arc Jet Complex significant contributions to the fields of aeronautics, was central to every NASA space transportation and aeronautical theory, aviation, and space exploration. planetary program including Mercury, Apollo, SSP, Smith J. De France, a pioneer in aeronautics research Viking, Pioneer-Venus, Galileo, Mars Pathfinder, and development, was responsible for the initial devel­ Stardust, National Aero-Space Plane (NASP), X-33, opment of the NACA facility and served as its first X-34, Slender Hypervelocity Aerothermodynamic director from 1940 to 1965, leading the facility to Research Probes (SHARP)–B1 and B2, X-37, and the national prominence for the scientific research con­ Mars Exploration Rovers. The complex meets Criteria ducted there. Consideration G based on the exceptional significance of the facility’s contributions to nationally and inter­ Arc Jet Complex (N-238, N-238, and Steam Vacuum nationally important space science programs, and it System [SVS]): The complex is nationally significant meets the internal evaluation standards established by for its scientific and engineering contributions to arc NASA for Resources Associated with the SSP. jet research and development at Ames. Built between 1962 and 1964, the three-unit complex is also asso­ Flight and Guidance Simulation Laboratory (N243): ciated with the research and development in the area This laboratory is nationally significant in the areas of of Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) for NASA’s science, invention, and engineering. Covering over spaceflight programs, including the exceptional role 108,000 square feet of space, the large Brutalist-style building housed some of the Center’s most unique air-

1 This complex is also a ationalN Historic Landmark and an and spacecraft research, testing, and training facilities, International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. including the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS), the

7 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

Shown are historic properties located within the Ames campus. (Photo credit: Page & Turnbull, 2016)

world’s largest and most sophisticated motion-based and operation of the Space Shuttle orbiter in pro­ simulator. The intensive research and development viding essential astronaut training in an accurately work undertaken in the laboratory made crucial con­ simulated orbiter. tributions to the fields of aeronautics, aeronautical theory, aviation, and spaceflight. The VMS in par­ More information can be found on the Ames Research ticular is exceptionally significant within the context Center Historic Preservation Office Web site at https:// of the SSP for its contribution to the development historicproperties.arc.nasa.gov.

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ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH I had the ability to do it, and that’s where my focus CENTER (AFRC) was,” she said. Edwards Air Force Base, California By Christian Gelzer When human computers were replaced by machines, Easley evolved along with the technology. She devel­ The Armstrong Flight Research Center history office oped and implemented code used in researching helped put together a display on female computers energy-conversion systems, analyzing alternative that went up in a local movie theater that was showing power technology, including the battery technology Hidden Figures. This display was to promote awareness that was used for early hybrid vehicles, as well as for of the Center and of female computers in general; the the Centaur upper stage rocket. For her contributions, Center employed computers who came west from she was inducted into the NASA Glenn Hall of Fame’s Langley. It then expanded the workforce by hiring inaugural class in 2015. locally to render raw flight data into something aero­ nautical engineers could use. The display garnered The history office has been providing materials from about 60,000 views. our archival collection in support of a number of events tied to Hidden Figures and human computers. We continue to wrestle with the reference collection’s Some of our Annie Easley photos and audio foot­ future since it resides in a building slated for destruc­ age were included at a special presentation during tion later this calendar year. Ideally, we’d like to get a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game and also in the collection digitized, after which it could be phys­ an educational commercial spot on kids’ television ically moved to the National Archives and Records network Nickelodeon. Administration, but doing so takes funds we haven’t yet rustled up. The individual who is allocated to the collection part-time has finished creating a box-level electronic catalog, which is the first step no matter what turns out to be the collection’s fate.

GLENN RESEARCH CENTER (GRC) Cleveland, Ohio By Anne Mills

The popularity of the movie Hidden Figures has been an opportunity to highlight our own hidden figure, Annie Easley. In 1955, Easley began her career as a human computer doing computations for researchers and engineers. This involved analyzing problems and performing calculations by hand. Her earliest work involved running simulations for the newly planned Plum Brook Reactor Facility. When hired, she was one of only four African American employees at the facility. In a 2001 NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project interview, Easley said that she had never set out to be a pioneer: “I just have my own Annie Easley is pictured at the Plum Brook Reactor Facility. (Photo attitude. I’m out here to get the job done, and I knew credit: NASA)

9 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER (JSC) Houston, Texas By John Uri ONE ITEM THAT HAS The JSC History Office is now in its permanent LATELY OCCUPIED A GREAT location on the third floor of Building 1, the main DEAL OF OUR TIME IS THE administration building on campus. After our move on 25 January, we quickly settled in so we could host RESTORATION OF THE an open house on 8 February. It was a way for us to HISTORIC APOLLO MISSION thank everyone who had had a part in making the CONTROL CENTER. design, construction, and move a success, as well as the Center management for their continuing support. (Besides, it was as good an excuse as any for throwing directorate and their significant science missions. To a party!) We had an excellent turnout, and we all had manage the additional workload, Rebecca Wright was a good time. hired as a part-time consultant—with her significant experience and background, she is a welcome addition One item that has lately occupied a great deal of our to the team. time is the restoration of the historic Apollo Mission Control Center. The JSC historian, Dr. Jennifer At JSC, Jennifer Ross-Nazzal and Sandra Johnson Ross-Nazzal, has spent many hours in meetings conducted several interviews in an ongoing series with discussing what JSC would like visitors to see, hear, Bill McArthur, former astronaut and Director of the and experience when visiting the National Historic JSC Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate. The Landmark. In April, JSC hosted a consultation meet­ interviews with Bill are planned to continue through ing about the restoration with the Texas State Historic June. Also, an oral history has been scheduled for Preservation Officer, the National Park Service, and the June-July timeframe with JSC Center Director the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation as part Ellen Ochoa. of the Section 106 provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act.

We continue to expand our extensive oral history collection by conducting interviews for several customers. Along with the ongoing projects for the NASA Headquarters History Division and the JSC Knowledge Management Office, we received additional funding from the NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate (SMD) for a new oral history project. Interviews are under way and being scheduled with current and former SMD personnel who have contributed to the success of their This photo shows the JSC Mission Control Center during the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.

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During the month of April, the team conducted sev­ LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER (LARC) eral interviews with subjects for both Headquarters Hampton, Virginia offices. These interviews were held in Florida; at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC; and in On 9 May 2017, NASA Langley staff helped the New Mexico. Future interviews are planned at Ames Headquarters History Division surprise Gail Langevin Research Center and the NASA Jet Propulsion with the NASA Headquarters History Program Award Laboratory during the week of the History Program in recognition of her outstanding career as history Review in May and, in June, at NASA Headquarters liaison and public affairs specialist. Gail will retire in and Goddard Space Flight Center. June after 34 years of NASA service. We will miss her, and we wish her luck. On 8 and 9 March, Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, Sandra Johnson, and John Uri attended a two-day Project Management for History Professionals class spon­ sored by the American Association of State and Local Historians (AASLH). The host organization was the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, and the class was held on the seventh floor of the old Book Depository Building from which Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fateful shots that killed President John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963. The class was very informative, teaching project-management principles and skills while using real-life projects. We had a chance to visit the Sixth Floor Museum, and the hosts gave a tour of their library and video studio, where they conduct oral histories. There were also opportunities for network­ ing with attendees who represented museums and other organizations. Gail Langevin, recipient of a NASA Headquarters History Program Award, stands with members of the Langley communications team.

Jennifer and Sandra attended the Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG) Annual Conference MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER on 13 April, held at the National Archives Building (MSFC) in Washington, DC. The theme of the meeting was Huntsville, Alabama “A Return to the Archives,” with welcoming remarks By Brian Odom by David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States. Panel sessions covered topics ranging from using The Marshall history program was in full swing archival holdings to create an online presence for this past quarter, supporting ongoing historical the U.S. House of Representatives’ History, Art & preservation projects, conducting oral history inter­ Archives Web site to setting up both physical and views, and processing archival collections. Marshall digital exhibits for federal agencies, incorporating oral Archivist Jordan Whetstone is currently processing histories, photos, audio, and video. Jennifer serves on the papers of Dr. Jerry Weinberg, a longtime NASA SHFG’s Thomas Jefferson Prize committee. The prize scientific investigator who worked on many pro­ recognizes excellence in documentary editions and grams, including Skylab’s Experiment S073; the Long research tools (indices, finding aids, and so forth) that Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF); and a photo­ make a significant contribution to the history of the electric polarimeter that was used during the STS-3 federal government. (Columbia) Space Shuttle mission to determine the

11 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

brightness, polarization, and color of the diffuse astro­ symposium. The event was held 16–17 March 2017 nomical background. The collection contains numer­ at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, ous technical reports, articles, and correspondence Alabama, and included 22 presentations on a wide related to these, as well as a range of other experiments. range of topics addressing issues of race, gender, and labor as they applied to the space program during the Several oral history interviews were conducted over period of the “long” civil rights movement. The goal the last quarter. One interview was with Acting of this symposium was to provide more context for President of Dynetics Technical Services, Inc., Steve the voices and stories and to develop a better under­ Cook. Cook formerly served as Program Manager standing of the intersection of NASA and the civil for the Ares Program at Marshall. The majority of rights movement. this conversation focused on Cook’s work prior to Ares, including his time with the Next Generation The presentations were certainly stimulating and Launch Technology (NGLT) Office and the Advanced incredibly diverse in topical and geographic scope. Space Transportation Programs (ASTP). Cook pro­ Dr. Brenda Plummer (History, University of vided valuable insight into technology development Wisconsin, Madison) gave an enlightening talk on at Marshall from the Return to Flight effort after the the “intersection of the struggle for racial equality Challenger disaster through the Ares Program, high­ and aerospace exploration as both constituted potent lighting important management lessons learned and narratives of freedom in the American imaginary.” political transitions. Plummer disputed the assumption that NASA was an “instrument of modernization” that was “implicitly Marshall and the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s allied with the civil rights movement.” NASA Chief (UAH) History Department recently hosted Historian Dr. Bill Barry presented an overview of the “NASA in the ‘Long’ Civil Rights Movement” how the U.S. struggle over civil rights and the space

MSFC Deputy Director Jody Singer addresses the “NASA in the ‘Long’ Civil Rights Movement” symposium on 17 March 2017 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. (Photo credit: NASA MSFC/Emmett Given)

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program were viewed and used by the Soviet Union. point of view.” With the recent interest in stories like National Air and Space Museum curator Dr. Cathleen those of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Lewis explored how this conflict reemerged in the Mary Jackson, as portrayed in the film Hidden Figures, 1980s with the race between the United States and we hope to continue to add new voices and greater the Soviet Union to place into space the first person historical context to such a critical topic. of color.

Several of the papers took a comparative approach. A STENNIS SPACE CENTER (SSC) discussion from Tim Pennycuff (University of Alabama Stennis Space Center, Mississippi at Birmingham) detailed how massive amounts of By Jessica Herr federal funds pouring into Birmingham for research, health training, and medical treatment (such as the Stennis: Part of Mississippi’s 200-Year History funding that would later arrive with the Apollo pro­ This December, Mississippi will turn 200 years old. gram) provided both a justification and a mandate for The birthday party started integration at the university. Marsha Freeman (inde­ in April with the southern pendent scholar) examined earlier efforts at desegre­ bicentennial celebration in gation in the region by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Gulfport, Mississippi, and Dr. Matthew Downs (University of Mobile) argued will culminate this December that, in Huntsville, civic and business leaders mod­ with a celebration in the state erated their stance on desegregation and “accommo­ capital of Jackson. SSC had dated the forces of change” out of economic necessity. a presence at the Mississippi A final panel discussion examined ways those engaged Bicentennial Celebration in in public history can create more inclusive narratives Gulfport. The history of the History Office Coordinator Jessica Herr greets vis- and collections going forward. In his talk titled “And area where SSC now sits can itors to an informational exhibit at the Mississippi Where Do We Go from Here? Ensuring the Past and be traced back to 1817, well Bicentennial Celebration in Gulfport. (Photo credit: Future History of Space,” Dr. Jonathan Coopersmith before Mississippi entered Tessa Keating) (Texas A&M University) highlighted the problematic statehood. There were five aspects of locating and preserving materials generated towns located in what is now the acoustic buffer zone by minority movements. that surrounds SSC: Napoleon, Logtown, Gainesville, Santa Rosa, and Westonia. The symposium was open to the public, a fact that enabled many welcome and productive conversations The town of Napoleon began with 640 acres granted on a difficult topic. The interplay between the audi­ by the British government to John Claudius Favre ence and panelists created a forum for drawing paral­ in 1767. By 1808, John had transferred the land to lels between the era of the civil rights movement and his son, Simon Favre. Simon built the first house current discussions of equal employment in the STEM and store in what would become the small town of fields. Veronica Henderson, a symposium moderator Napoleon. The town’s claim to fame was a large home and interim head archivist at the Historically Black named Parade Rest that was more than 3,000 square Alabama A&M University, commented, “As histori­ feet with thousands of azaleas and camellias decorat­ ans, we are able to add layers to the conversation, to ing the landscape. connect the dots. Having historians get together and relate the different stories to a point in history, we can Nearby Logtown had 3,000 residents at its peak, most uncover more. We can explore things not previously of whom worked for the lumber industry, which was thought about or considered, and putting these stories the most important industry in the area at the time. into context allows us to see things from a different The earliest owner of what would become bustling

13 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

Santa Rosa was one of the more distinctive towns in the buffer zone. At its largest, it had only a handful of homes, but what it lacked in population, it made up for in character. In the town were a couple of stores and churches, a post office, a one-room school house, and several bars. These “dens of iniquity” were closed and chased out of town many times, but the bars always reopened. There was quite a bit of illegal activ­ ity going on at the bars for the time, one being the sale of whiskey. Mississippi was a dry state at the time, and moonshiners populated the area surrounding SSC until the mid-1960s.

The town of Westonia was named for the lumber tycoon Horatio Weston, who founded the H. Weston Lumber Company. Westonia grew around the timber industry and also housed a repair station for railroad Parade Rest is seen here with owners John and Neita Wheeler. (Photo credit: Hancock County flat cars and steam engines. Back then, it was a small Historical Society) town with churches, stores, one hotel, a small school, and a couple of wells used for the steam engines that Logtown was Jean Baptiste Rousseve, who was given traveled through the town. After 1930, in the midst of the land in 1788. Records relating to this time and the Great Depression, the timber industry in the area place are minimal, but it is thought that in 1845, shut down, making the town virtually nonexistent by E. G. Goddard built the first log mill there. The town the 1960s. would grow until 1930, by which time the supply of commercial timber was depleted. With the Great On 1 November 1961, on the grounds of the Logtown Depression under way and the railroad passing north elementary school, U.S. Senator John C. Stennis of of the town, only 250 residents remained by 1961. Mississippi gave a speech to the 1,500 people from the surrounding area. Stennis spoke about the govern­ Gainesville was the only town that lay in what is now ment project to build a rocket engine testing center the operational portion of SSC. It began in 1810 with on their land and what the government was asking a land grant by Dr. Ambrose Gaines for more than the people to do. “There is always the thorn before the 500 acres in what was then Spanish territory. Gaines rose;…you have got to make some sacrifices, but you laid out his plan for a new town, initially naming it will be taking part in greatness,” he said. He billed it Gaines Bluff. Just prior to the Battle of New Orleans as a “call to arms” in the space race against the Soviet in 1813, Andrew Jackson marched his troops through Union. Because of the sacrifices of the families in Gainesville so as not to be detected by British troops. the surrounding towns to allow construction of the Gainesville grew due to the shipping and logging rocket engine test site, a local refrain was born: “If you industries along the Pearl River, but in 1883, the want to go to the Moon, you first have to go through Southern Railroad Line between New Orleans and Hancock County, Mississippi.” Meridian, Mississippi, bypassed the town by 10 miles. By 1961, when NASA was looking to build the new rocket engine test facility, Gainesville had only 35 families left.

14 Volume 34, Number 2 Second Quarter 2017

OTHER AEROSPACE HISTORY NEWS

By Mike Ciancone

hanks to Dr. Trevor Sorensen, who was Lunar and working out floor plans and gallery designs. The TMission Manager for the 1994 Clementine mis­ first three new space exhibits are in work: “Destination sion to the Moon, the Pacific Regional Planetary Data Moon,” “Exploring the Planets,” and “One World Center (PRPDC) has acquired much of the original Connected (Planet Earth).” Additionally, there is documentation for this mission. PRPDC is hosted by a strong space component in “A Nation of Speed.” the Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, More information about these exhibits will become University of Hawai’i at Manoa. The PRPDC is one of available as they are developed. 17 NASA Regional Planetary Image Facilities (RPIFs) around the world, with the PRPDC archiving plan­ etary data that serve the planetary research and edu­ cation communities throughout the Pacific nations. PRPDC strives to provide users of NASA planetary data with some of the latest information about ongo­ …ALL 23 EXHIBIT GALLER- ing NASA missions, as well as access to these datasets IES WILL UNDERGO TRANS- and derived products that help with their interpreta­ FORMATION AS THEY GET tion. Ultimately, they will digitize these materials and make them available on their Web site, but for now, EMPTIED AND REIMAGINED, they are just paper copies. The list of materials in the MAKING EVERY STAFF MEM- Clementine collection can be viewed online at https:// BER PART OF AT LEAST ONE www.higp.hawaii.edu/prpdc/Clementine.html. EXHIBIT TEAM INVOLVED IN WRITING SCRIPTS, CHOOS- SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND ING ARTIFACTS AND IMAGES, SPACE MUSEUM DEVELOPING VIDEOS AND By Valerie Neal, Curator and Chair, Space History Department INTERACTIVE FEATURES, AND “Revitalization” and “transformation”—the key words WORKING OUT FLOOR PLANS at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) this AND GALLERY DESIGNS. year, and for the next few years—are keeping every­ one in the Space History Department busier than ever. The 40-year-old building on the National Mall will soon undergo a revitalization from the outside Research inward: new façade stone, new vestibules for security In the scholarly realm, our space historians continue screening, new wiring and plumbing, new windows to publish their research and make presentations at and stronger floors, and redesigned office spaces will conferences. Martin Collins, Jennifer Levasseur, and be installed without closing the museum to visitors. Margaret Weitekamp went to London to speak at At the same time, all 23 exhibit galleries will undergo the annual Artefacts conference, jointly organized by transformation as they get emptied and reimagined, NASM, the Science Museum of London, and the making every staff member part of at least one exhibit Deutsches Museum. They also visited exhibits in var­ team involved in writing scripts, choosing artifacts ious museums and checked up on NASM artifacts and images, developing videos and interactive features, on loan there. Paul Ceruzzi presented two research

15 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

papers at a conference on early digital computing at Organization, and Business History. The National the University of Siegen in Germany. Geospatial-Intelligence Agency published Jim David’s article, “CORONA and the Search for ICBMs,” in Michael Neufeld gave a talk called “The Difficult Birth its Geospatial Intelligence Review, and the National of NASA’s Pluto Mission” at the joint meeting of the Security Archives Web site published his article, American Astronomical Society Division of Planetary “Soviet Missiles and Space Programs in the President’s Sciences and the European Planetary Science Congress in Daily Briefs.” Also, his article “How Much Detail Do Pasadena, California, and at the Johns Hopkins University We Need To See? High and Very High Resolution Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Photography, GAMBIT, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory” was published online by Intelligence Matthew Shindell attended the annual meeting of the and National Security. Teasel Muir-Harmony pub­ History of Science Society (HSS), appearing on two lished an article, “American Foreign Policy and the panels, delivering one paper, and meeting with fellow Space Race,” in John Butler, ed., Oxford Research members of the HSS Advocacy Committee for history Encyclopedia of American History. A popular version in the federal government. of Margaret Weitekamp’s scholarly article titled “The Image of Scientists in The Big Bang Theory” appeared David DeVorkin chaired a history session at the in Physics Today. American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting and gave a workshop at the University of Virginia on his­ Collections torical documentation of astronomical instruments. Newly on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center is the Michael Neufeld, Cathleen Lewis, and Margaret reconstructed Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) Weitekamp participated in the “NASA in the ‘Long’ sunshield and canister, which is suspended directly Civil Rights Movement” symposium at NASA’s above the reassembled ATM Spar containing many of Marshall Space Flight Center. the backup solar telescopes that were intended for a successor Skylab mission. Also, the Apollo Command Among a variety of public talks, Cathleen Lewis Module Columbia can be seen in the Restoration presented a Smithsonian Associates program about Shop, where it is being examined, cleaned, and con­ the International Space Station titled “A Partnership served before being installed in a new case and going That’s Out of This World: Navigating Space Relations.” on a 50th anniversary national tour that begins at Valerie Neal accompanied a six-day Smithsonian Space Center Houston this October. The Smithsonian Journeys tour of Iceland as expert lecturer on the Digital Projects Office (DPO) commenced 3D scan­ Northern Lights; she gave three talks about the auro­ ning of the interior and exterior of Space Shuttle rae, the solar-terrestrial environment and relationship, orbiter Discovery, using a variety of devices to develop and the history of studying these phenomena. an extraordinarily high-resolution dataset for mul­ tiple uses, including 3D visualization and printing. Recent Publications Cathleen Lewis acquired the spacesuit and support The German edition of Paul Ceruzzi’s 2012 book, system used by high-altitude parachuting record Computing: A Concise History (Computer: Eine Kurze holder Alan Eustace and led a team that prepared its Geschichte), was released by the Berlin University Press, display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. making it the fifth translation of this popular book. Martin Collins published “The Global in the 1980s Public Programs and 1990s: Liquid Modernity, Routines, and the Our What’s New in Aerospace monthly programs in Case of Motorola’s Iridium Satellite Communications the Moving Beyond Earth gallery continue to high­ Venture” in Daniel M. G. Raff and Philip Scranton, light NASA missions and personalities. Popular recent eds., The Emergence of Routines: Entrepreneurship, programs focused on the Solar TErrestrial RElations

16 Volume 34, Number 2 Second Quarter 2017

Observatory (STEREO) with retired astro­ naut John Grunsfeld and four solar scien­ tists, on astronaut and author Tom Jones, and on astronaut Jeff Williams. Jennifer Levasseur plans and hosts many of these programs. Likewise, our Smithsonian Stars and Exploring Space lecture series, largely planned and hosted by David DeVorkin, draw leading scientists to talk about news-making missions and discoveries. These free public lectures bring interested audiences into the museum after hours. We also provide live commentary on launches to the International Space Station, docking, and crew returns when they occur during the museum’s open hours. The museum continues to host the periodic Space Policy Forum (organized by Teasel Muir-Harmony) and the History Seminar in Contemporary Science and Technology (organized by Tom Lassman), which bring together historians and social scientists in the DC area for stim­ ulating discussions.

Space History curators just wrapped up work on a six-part documentary series for the Smithsonian Channel that addresses Museum visitors leave flower arrangements beside John Glenn’s Friendship 7 capsule. some of the thorniest engineering challenges (Photo credit: Andres Almeida) in aerospace history and the people who worked hard to solve them. Originally called NASM. He remains active as an independent histo­ Engineering Space, the programs will be broadcast as rian and consultant. America’s Secret Space Heroes, featuring a number of NASA staff, both past and present. Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan is resident at the museum as the 2017 Charles Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace Personnel News History. She is working on a book about how the Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony joined the Space History idea of servicing spacecraft in orbit became embodied Department as a NASM curator in late 2016. She in the Hubble Space Telescope’s design and in the earned her Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of specialized extravehicular activity crews who carried Technology (MIT) in 2014 and served as an associate out its servicing missions. historian and postdoctoral fellow for two years at the American Institute of Physics. Finally, NASM acknowledged with sorrow the deaths of our good friends John Glenn and Gene Cernan by Dr. Roger D. Launius retired from government ser­ placing floral arrangements and memorial panels near vice and left the museum at the turn of the new year their respective Mercury and Apollo spacecraft. We after a long career with the Air Force, NASA, and will miss their visits and their devotion to the museum.

17 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

COMMERCIALLY PUBLISHED WORKS November 2016). This handbook is a reference work By Chris Gamble providing a comparative overview of space law. The book highlights emerging legal issues and summa­ Stamping the Earth from Space, by Renato Dicati rizes the existing state of knowledge on a range of (Springer, January 2017). This book presents a his­ topics; it also discusses the gaps and inconsistencies in torical and philatelic survey of Earth exploration existing law. from space. Stamping the Earth from Space presents the photographic results obtained by the thousands Next Stop Mars: The Why, How, and When of of satellites launched by the Soviet Union (and later Human Missions, by Giancarlo Genta (Springer- Russia) and the United States and also those of the Praxis, January 2017). This book covers the possible many missions carried out by the European Space crewed mission to Mars first discussed in the 1950s, Agency (ESA), individual European countries, Japan, addressing historic and future plans to visit the Red China, India, and the many emerging space nations. Planet. Considering the environmental, engineering, It contains almost 1,100 color reproductions of phila­ and design challenges needed for a successful trip, telic items. In addition to topical stamps and thematic it covers multiple aspects of a possible mission and postal documents, the book provides an extensive outpost as presented from other space agencies and review of astrophilatelic items. Prominent space mis­ private companies. sions are documented through event covers and cards canceled at launch sites, tracking stations, research Mars One: Hype and Hubris, by Erik Seedhouse laboratories, and mission control facilities. (Springer-Praxis, November 2016). This book dissects the publicity of the Mars One venture. Every aspect Explore/Create: My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, of the mission design is examined, from the selection Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark, by Richard process to the mission architecture. Garriott de Cayeux and David Fisher (William Morrow, January 2017). This is a new memoir from The Final Mission: Preserving NASA’s Apollo Sites, entrepreneur and gaming pioneer Richard Garriott. by Lisa Westwood, Beth Laura O’Leary, and Milford Wayne Donaldson (University Press of Florida, Amazing Stories of the Space Age: True Tales of Nazis February 2017). Across the American landscape and in Orbit, Soldiers on the Moon, Orphaned Martian on the lunar surface, many facilities and landing sites Robots, and Other Fascinating Accounts from the linked to the Apollo program remain unprotected. Annals of Spaceflight, by Rod Pyle (Prometheus This book explores these key locations, reframes the Books, January 2017). The unusual and bizarre proj­ footprints and items left on the Moon as cultural ects described in this book were not merely flights resources, and calls for the urgent preservation of this of fancy dreamed up by space enthusiasts, but actual space heritage. missions planned by leading aeronautical engineers. Some were designed but not built; others were built The Traveler’s Guide to Space: For One-Way Settlers but not flown; and a few were flown to failure but and Round-Trip Tourists, by Neil F. Comins little reported. These stories, complemented by photos (Columbia University Press, February 2017). Comins and illustrations, tell of a time when the race to the attempts to outline the many technical challenges of Moon outweighed other considerations. space travel in clear language for all readers. He syn­ thesizes key issues and cutting-edge research in astron­ Routledge Handbook of Space Law, edited by Ram omy, physics, biology, psychology, and sociology to S. Jakhu and Paul Stephen Dempsey (Routledge, create a manual for what could be the ultimate voyage.

18 Volume 34, Number 2 Second Quarter 2017

Astronaut Corps of Malaysia, by Captain Faiz Kamaludin scientist, payload specialist, spacewalker, Moonwalker, (Partridge Singapore, February 2017). On 10 October etc.), and the different types of missions are described. 2007, a young Malaysian was successfully launched into space, becoming that nation’s first Angkasawan (astro­ Apollo in the Age of Aquarius, by Neil M. Maher naut). The Malaysian government had secured a seat on (Harvard University Press, March 2017). The summer board the three-seater Soyuz capsule before it blasted off of 1969 saw two major events: astronauts landing from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Herein on the Moon for the first time and hippie hordes you will find excerpts and short stories from some of the descending on Woodstock, New York, for a legend­ young candidates and like-minded individuals vying ary music festival. For the author, the conjunction of for the coveted top spot of Malaysian Angkasawan. The these two era-defining events is not entirely coinci­ top 59 candidates of the astronaut program are now all dental. This book shows how the celestial aspirations members of the Astronautical Association of Malaysia, of NASA’s Apollo space program were tethered to ter­ also known as the Astronaut Corps of Malaysia. This is restrial concerns, from the civil rights struggle and the their story on their efforts to become the first Malaysian antiwar movement to environmentalism, feminism, sent into space. and the counterculture.

Chandra’s Cosmos: Dark Matter, Black Holes, and Worlds Fantastic, Worlds Familiar: A Guided Tour Other Wonders Revealed by NASA’s Premier X-Ray of the Solar System, by Bonnie J. Buratti (Cambridge Observatory, by Wallace H. Tucker (Smithsonian University Press, March 2017). Join the author, a plan­ Books, March 2017). On 23 July 1999, the Chandra etary astronomer, on a personal tour of NASA’s latest X-ray Observatory, the most powerful x-ray telescope discoveries. Moving through the solar system past ever built, launched aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. Mercury, Venus, and Mars; past comets and asteroids; Since then, Chandra has given us a view of the uni­ past the moons of the giant planets; past Pluto; and verse that is largely hidden from telescopes sensitive on to exoplanets, the author gives vivid descriptions of only to visible light. In this book, the author uses landforms that are similar to those found on Earth but a series of short, connected stories to describe the are more fantastic. Sulfur-rich volcanoes and lakes on telescope’s exploration of the hot, high-energy face Io, active gullies on Mars, huge ice plumes and tar-like of the universe. The book is organized in three parts: deposits on the moons of Saturn, hydrocarbon rivers “The Big”—covering the cosmic web, dark energy, and lakes on Titan, and nitrogen glaciers on Pluto are dark matter, and massive clusters of galaxies; “The just some of the marvels that await readers. Bad”—exploring neutron stars, stellar black holes, and supermassive black holes; and “The Beautiful”—dis­ Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon 1972–2013, by cussing stars, exoplanets, and life. Tucker explores the Dennis Jenkins (Dennis R. Jenkins, February 2017). implications of these observations in a narrative aimed During 30 years and 135 missions, the Space Shuttle at space buffs and general readers alike. carried more crewmembers to orbit than all other launch systems from all other countries combined and carried Astronaut: 1961 Onwards (All Roles and Nationalities) more than 4.5 million pounds of payload to orbit. The (Owners’ Workshop Manual), by Ken McTaggart Space Shuttle launched a variety of commercial and (Haynes Publishing UK, February 2017). The book military satellites, planetary probes to Venus and Jupiter, begins with early ideas about astronauts as portrayed and three of the four NASA Great Observatories, in science fiction and in films. It goes on to cover the including the pièce de résistance, the Hubble Space recruitment and application process to become an Telescope. This publication is a three-volume set, 1,584 astronaut with NASA and the European Space Agency, pages long, with more than 2,900 illustrations. The as well as the qualifications and fitness level required volumes are packaged in a slipcase. Volume 1 is titled for various astronaut roles. The reader is taken through Setting the Stage; volume 2, Technical Description; and training for different types of astronaut roles (pilot, volume 3, The Flight Campaign.

19 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

Books for Young Readers The Mars Rovers, by Patricia Hutchison (Child’s Newsletter contributor Michael Ciancone wishes to World, Wonders of Space series). thank Chris Gamble and Joni Wilson for their assistance in compiling the below list. Moonwalk: The Story of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, by David Jenkins and Adrian Buckley (Circa Press). Smithsonian Adventures in Space, by Courtney Acampora (Silver Dolphin Books). Ask the Astronaut: A Galaxy of Astonishing Answers to Your Questions on Spaceflight, by Tom Jones Apollo 11 Moon Landing: An Interactive Space (Smithsonian Books). Exploration Adventure, by Thomas Adamson (Capstone Press, You Choose: Space series). Mars Exploration Rovers: An Interactive Space Exploration Adventure, by Steve Kortenkamp Space Dictionary for Kids: The Everything Guide for (Capstone Press, You Explore: Space series). Kids Who Love Space, by Amy Anderson and Brian Anderson (Prufrock Press). The Stellar Story of Space Travel, by Patricia Lakin (Simon Spotlight, History of Fun Stuff series). The Ultimate Book of Space, by Anne-Sophie Baumann (Twirl). International Space Station: An Interactive Space Exploration Adventure, by Allison Lassieur (Capstone Dawn Probe: A Robot Explores the Dwarf Planet Ceres, Press, You Choose: Space series). by James Bow (PowerKids Press, Robots Exploring Space series). Space Robots, by Ryan Nagelhout (PowerKids Press, Robots and Robotics series). New Horizons: A Robot Explores Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, by James Bow (PowerKids Press, Robots Think Like an Astronaut! How Do Rockets Work?, by Exploring Space series). Pfiffikus (Pfiffikus).

Space Visual Encyclopedia, by DK (DK Children). The International Space Station, by Arnold Ringstad (Child’s World, Wonders of Space series). Spaceships and Rockets, by DK (DK Children). Space Missions of the 21st Century, by Arnold Ringstad Destination: Space, by Christoph Englert (Wide Eyed (Child’s World, Wonders of Space series). Editions). The Voyager Space Probes, by Arnold Ringstad Voyager Probes: Robots on an Interstellar Mission, by (Child’s World, Wonders of Space series). Robyn Hardyman (PowerKids Press, Robots Exploring Space series). The Cassini Mission: Robots Exploring Saturn and Its Moon Titan, by Angela Royston (PowerKids Press, Mission to Space, by John Herrington (White Dog Press). Robots Exploring Space series).

Exploring Beyond Our Solar System, by Patricia Rosetta Probe: A Robot’s Mission To Catch a Comet, by Hutchison (Child’s World, Wonders of Space series). Robert Snedden (PowerKids Press, Robots Exploring Space series). The First Moon Landing, by Patricia Hutchison (Child’s World, Wonders of Space series).

20 Volume 34, Number 2 Second Quarter 2017

Mars Probes: Robots Explore the Red Planet, by What’s It Like in Space? Stories from Astronauts Who’ve Kelly Spence (PowerKids Press, Robots Exploring Been There, by Ariel Waldman (Chronicle Books). Space series). To Burp or Not To Burp: A Guide to Your Body in Space Race: An Interactive Space Exploration Space, by Dave Williams and Loredana Cunti (Annick Adventure, by Rebecca Stefoff (Capstone Press, You Press, Dr. Dave Astronaut series). Choose: Space series). Disclaimer: The History Division wishes to thank volun- Rovers, by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst (Jump!, Space teers Mike Ciancone and Chris Gamble, who compiled Explorers series). this section for us. Please note that the descriptions have been derived by Chris and Mike from promotional mate- Spacecraft, by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst (Jump!, rial and do not represent an endorsement by NASA. Space Explorers series).

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Exposition (AIAA Aviation 2017) will be held 5–9 AirVenture Oshkosh will be held 24–30 July 2017 June 2017 in Denver, Colorado. Visit https://www. in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Visit https://www.eaa.org/en/ aiaa-aviation.org for details. airventure for details.

The Kenneth E. Behring National History Day will The annual meeting of the Society for the Social be held 11–15 June 2017 in College Park, Maryland. Studies of Science (4S) will be held 30 August–​ Visit https://www.nhd.org for details. 2 September 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. Visit http://www.4sonline.org/meeting for details. The annual meeting for the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) will be held AIAA Space 2017 will be held 12–14 September 2017 22–24 June 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. Visit http:// in Orlando, Florida. Visit http://www.aiaa-space.org shafr.org/conferences/annual/2017-annual-meeting for details. for details. The International Astronautical Congress will be The NASA Langley Centennial Symposium will be held 25–29 September 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. held 12–14 July 2017 in Hampton, Virginia. Visit Visit http://www.iafastro.org/events/iac/iac-2017 https://www.nasa.gov/langley/100/events for details. for details.

The annual meeting of the Society of American The annual meeting for the Society of the History Archivists (ARCHIVES 2017) will be held 23–29 of Technology will be held 26–29 October 2017 July 2017 in Portland, Oregon. Visit http://www2. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Visit http://www. archivists.org/am2017 for details. historyoftechnology.org for more details.

21 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

THE 1970 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

7 MARCH 1970—NASA LIGHTS THE The path of the 1970 eclipse ran nearly the entire SKY FOR SOLAR ECLIPSE East Coast of the United States. At Wallops, the total By Keith Koehler eclipse lasted just over a minute, ending at 1:38 p.m. EST with 99.9 percent totality. Editor’s note: The original version of this article can be found online at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/wallops/2017/ This pass offered scientists from NASA, four universi­ march-7-1970-nasa-lights-the-sky-for-solar-eclipse. ties, and seven other research organizations a unique way to conduct meteorological, ionospheric, and solar As scientists gear up for a total solar eclipse that will physics experiments using 32 sounding rockets, also cross the nation on 21 August 2017, some are also known as suborbital rockets. remembering the eclipse observations from 7 March 1970, gathered during a bout of rapid-fire sounding The public converged on this unpopulated area to not rocket launches. Known by some as the “eclipse of only witness the total solar eclipse, but also to view the century,” the 1970 eclipse offered a unique per­ the rockets that launched before, during, and after the spective for scientific studies as it was the first time a eclipse. In addition, one rocket launched that was not total eclipse in the United States passed over a perma­ part of the solar eclipse campaign. nent rocket launch facility—NASA’s Wallops Station (now NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility) on the coast An estimated 12,000 to 14,000 people planted them­ of Virginia. selves across the bay from Wallops Island and the

Thousands of people descended on the eastern shore of Virginia to witness the solar eclipse and the sounding rocket launches. (Photo credit: NASA)

22 Volume 34, Number 2 Second Quarter 2017

The path of the total solar eclipse of 7 March 1970 ran along the East Thirty-two sounding rockets were launched at Wallops to conduct meteorological, ionospheric, Coast of the United States. Thirty-two sounding rockets were launched to and solar physics experiments surrounding the solar eclipse event. (Photo credit: NASA) observe the event. (Photo credit: NASA) surrounding area for the spectacle. They were joined by carry instruments to anywhere from 39 to almost 500 members of Congress and also NASA’s Deputy Associate miles in altitude. Administrator for Planning, Dr. Wernher von Braun. The campaign began on 6 March 1970, at 4:30 a.m., The launch range at Wallops had been used for sub­ with the launch of a Nike-Cajun rocket carrying orbital rocket launchings since 1945 and for orbital instruments to measure Earth’s ozone and water missions since 1960, beginning with the Scout rocket. vapor. By 2 p.m., an additional three rockets had However, pulling off eclipse science missions required been launched. more than the established launch infrastructure at the site. Eclipse day began with the first rocket launch at 9:30 a.m., followed by 24 additional launches that Fourteen additional rocket launchers were installed at same day. Within the span of just 21 minutes, between the site, bringing the total available for the campaign 1:26 and 1:47 p.m., 15 rockets were launched, some to 24. While the station had seven permanent radars, within seconds of each other. an additional six mobile radars were used. Although the launch range was equipped with a telemetry sta­ The following day, 8 March, three more eclipse tion, five mobile telemetry vans were needed. In addi­ launches and the non-eclipse rocket launch took place. tion, the Wallops telemetry ship, the USNS Range Recoverer, was stationed off the Virginia coast. Project personnel reported that every rocket launched on time or within seconds of its scheduled flight. Only Eight different launch vehicles were used: Arcas, Nike- one experiment failed to return any scientific data. Apache, Nike-Cajun, Nike-Tomahawk, Nike-Iroquois, Aerobee 150, Aerobee 170, and Javelin. These vehicles In addition to the rockets launched at Wallops, two ranged in length from 8 to nearly 50 feet and could sounding rockets were launched from the White

23 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

Sands Missile Range in 2017 eclipse will take New Mexico, which was around an hour and a half outside the path of the NONSCIENTISTS, TOO, to cross from Oregon to eclipse, to gather compar­ South Carolina, providing ative data. WILL HAVE THE CHANCE ample time for repeated TO OBSERVE A PARTIAL OR measurements across the A study of the effects of TOTAL ECLIPSE, WEATHER nation. Satellites, aircraft, the eclipse was made using weather balloons, and radio signals from the PERMITTING, FROM ANY OF ground-based instruments Mariner 6 probe, which THE NATION’S CONTIGUOUS will gather atmospheric was 235 million miles 48 STATES. and solar measurements. from Earth at the time, on the opposite side of the Nonscientists, too, will Sun. Six Earth-orbiting have the chance to observe satellites also observed the eclipse and its effects. On a partial or total eclipse, weather permitting, from any the ground, NASA-sponsored observations were of the nation’s contiguous 48 states. made from three locations: two in Virginia and one in Mexico. For information on the August eclipse such as maps showing the eclipse path across the United States, the While the 21 August 2017 eclipse may not provide science being conducted, education materials, activ­ the opportunity for a rocket spectacle such as that ities for the general public, and more, visit https:// provided on 7 March 1970, NASA is gearing up to eclipse2017.nasa.gov. support a wide range of science observations. The

NASA AND ART: A COLLABORATION COLORED WITH HISTORY

By Hannah Hotovy, NASA History Division Intern

he relationship between the arts and sciences, to James Webb requested that the artist create portraits T some, may resemble that of oil and water. One of every NASA astronaut. He also began to envision captures the nature of the universe through objective all that artists could do for NASA. In a March 1962 reason and data, while the other relies on expression of memorandum to Hiden T. Cox, NASA’s public affairs emotion and divergence of perception. At this inter­ director, Webb expressed his interest in creating a section, however, lies a rich visual history that con­ NASA art program to commemorate both past and tinues to bring the far reaches of the known universe future events. At a time when humankind was just closer to home. beginning to venture into space, Webb recognized the importance of capturing the emotions of exploration, The earliest movement for collaboration between art such as excitement and uncertainty, in a way in which and science at NASA came to fruition in the creation history could look back and fully appreciate all that of the NASA Art Program in 1962, just four years after the Agency had achieved. the Agency’s establishment. After viewing artist Bruce Stevenson’s commissioned portrait of Alan Shepard, To help get the program off the ground, NASA offi­ the first American in space, NASA Administrator cials enlisted artist and NASA employee James Dean

24 Volume 34, Number 2 Second Quarter 2017

to head the program with the assistance of H. Lester See some selected works from the NASA Art Program Cooke, Curator of Painting at the National Art Gallery. on the NASA History Flickr page at https://www. Together, the pair began organizing opportunities for flickr.com/photos/nasacommons. artists to witness history being made firsthand, invit­ ing them to impart their experiences to the public Though the NASA Art Program has been scaled back through their works. Though the participants would considerably over the years, the connections formed only be provided with a modest grant of $800, barely between science and art continue to act as valuable enough to cover travel expenses, the program prom­ tools in illustrating NASA’s modern explorations and ised an experience unimaginable to the average citizen. discoveries. Artists and filmmakers work closely with In May 1963, the program selected eight artists to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, referencing capture the final Mercury flight, in which Gordon Cooper completed 22 Earth orbits in his spacecraft, Faith 7. Under Dean and Cooke’s leadership, the work done by artists like Robert McCall, Peter Hurd, and Mitchell Jamieson served as the cornerstone for the program and its later artistic collaborations that illus­ trated the wonder of the ages of Gemini and Apollo. Over the course of its decades- long history, the NASA Art Program continued to attract renowned talents, including Norman Rockwell, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and Annie Leibowitz.

The artwork created through the NASA Art Program shaped the stories of early spaceflight into a popular American mythology, one that inspires a sense of national pride and shared accomplishment. As Dean remarked, “The artists were really missionaries for NASA. I mean, they were carrying The First Steps painting by Mitchell Jamieson, a former World War II Navy artist, captures the moment astronaut Gordon Cooper emerged from his Faith 7 spacecraft after his 22-orbit mission in 1963. Through paintings, the message out like nothing Jamieson documented Cooper’s return, from postflight medical examinations to the journey back to Cape else would.” Canaveral. (Photo credit: Mitchell Jamieson, courtesy of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum)

25 NASA HISTORY DIVISION — News & Notes

subject images and mission data, to create scientifically accurate concept art and animations. The resulting works inform viewers about current missions and their progress, like the Cassini mis­ sion’s Grand Finale (see https://saturn.jpl. nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/overview) as the probe begins its dramatic descent into Saturn. They also help audiences visualize discoveries of the natural universe (like the recently discovered TRAPPIST-1 system exoplanets) far beyond their view.

The TRAPPIST-1 discoveries also sup­ plied content for a visual campaign out of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Three space colony summer studies were conducted at NASA Ames Research Center in the that taps into the nostalgia of the science 1970s. A number of artistic renderings of the concepts were made, including this one, which fiction culture and advertising styles of shows a cutaway view of a fictional Toroidal (donut-shaped) Colony. (Artwork: Rick Guidice; the 1960s. Dubbed Visions of the Future, photo credit: NASA Ames Research Center) the project ranges in scope from plan­ etary bodies inside our solar system like the moons To learn more about Visions of the Future, visit the of Saturn to distant discoveries like the Kepler and Exoplanet Travel Bureau at https://exoplanets.nasa. TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets. The visually engaging final gov/alien-worlds/exoplanet-travel-bureau. product provides a creative imagining of a farsighted age of future exploration while bringing awareness to the promise of current discoveries.

NASA HEADQUARTERS HISTORY DIVISION STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION

William Barry [email protected] Elizabeth Suckow [email protected] Chief Historian 202-358-0383 Archivist 202-358-0375

Andres Almeida [email protected] Chief Archivist (Vacant) Editor 202-358-0044 Jordan Carter [email protected] Nadine Andreassen [email protected] Intern 202-358-2336 Program Support Specialist 202-358-0087 Julian Haddad [email protected] Colin Fries [email protected] Intern 202-358-2577 Archivist 202-358-0388 Victoria Wegman [email protected] Stephen Garber [email protected] Intern 202-358-0680 Historian 202-358-0385

26 Volume 34, Number 2 Second Quarter 2017

IMAGE IN NASA HISTORY

n this photograph taken on 5 December 1961, a was designed to provide a pilot with a detailed visual Itest subject sits at the controls of Project LOLA encounter with the lunar surface; the machine con­ (for Lunar Orbit and Landing Approach), a simulator sisted primarily of a cockpit, a closed-circuit TV built at Langley to study problems related to landing system, and four large murals or scale models rep­ on the lunar surface. It was a complex project that cost resenting portions of the lunar surface as seen from nearly $2 million. In his book Spaceflight Revolution: various altitudes.” NASA Langley Research Center from Sputnik to Apollo (SP-4308), James Hansen wrote: “This simulator Photo credit: NASA Langley Research Center

27 CREATED AND PRODUCED BY:

Andres Almeida, Newsletter Editor DOWNLOAD THIS AND OTHER RECENT Lisa Jirousek, Editor EDITIONS OF NEWS & NOTES AT Michele Ostovar, Graphic Designer http://history.nasa.gov/histnews.htm. Trenita Williams, Mail Coordinator Carl Paul, Distribution

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Find our collection of great images from NASA history at NASA on the Commons on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons.

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